Once in a Century
by Spinnerchild
Summary: He'll take whatever he wants, and he wants her
1. Doing Deals

Paul sat on his bike, looking out at the Pacific Ocean waiting for his connection to show up. He'd been there a while and David was telling him to hurry up, but Paul was quite happy hanging out up in the Opal Cliffs. David had refused to ride all the way to the Cliffs just for a deal, so he had stayed in Santa Carla with Dwayne while Paul had conned Marko to go down there with him.

'How much longer?' David projected to Paul, becoming even more impatient. Paul was always wanting to get hold of something or another and the last pick up had been shit so David was sceptical of some random guy Paul was meeting down on the Cliffs and wasn't willing to waste too much time on this.

'Not long. Don't worry, this guy is legit.' Paul reassured him, looking down the long dark road for the tell-tale twin lights to signal his desired visitor's arrival.

'What, like the last guy?' Dwayne interjected, teasing Paul and smirking at David. Paul, meanwhile, flicked his unimpressed eyes over to Marko then back out to the Ocean.

'No.' He replied and David and Dwayne laughed, knowing exactly how that would have grated on Paul. Marko laughed at him as well and Paul told him to shut up. Paul began tapping his hands on the front of his seat to the beat of a tune he had running through his head and tried to ignore his brothers. David turned his attention over the bay towards the Boardwalk in the distance and looked at it with apathy. He was bored with Santa Carla, he was only here because Max had decided to play house and business owner here and David was ready to leave. 'Bingo.' Paul declared, stepping off his bike and walking towards the beat-up Mustang approaching him. The car pulled up and three people, two males and a female, got out of the car, the two men approaching him while the female leaned against her car door. Paul led the men over towards Marko, but the girl remained where she was and watched the men begin to conduct their deal before she looked away, bored. 'This is my mate Marko. Marko, this is Ben and Carl and...' Paul motioned to the girl at the car, truly regarding her for the first time and getting stuck on his words as he noticed how pretty she was, 'um...' He looked back at Ben.

'That's Star.'

'Right... Star.' Paul looked back at the girl who glanced over to the men again and gave him the smallest half smile before looking away again and Paul brought himself back to the task at hand. 'What ya got?' Paul smiled, casting his eyes over the envelope the driver, Ben, pulled out of his jacket pocket. Paul's eyes lit up at the merchandise and he knew he was onto a winner. He did the deal and the men turned to walk back to the car and Paul halted and nudged Marko's arm. 'Check that tasty piece of ass. ' He said as she pushed off the car door, turned and got back into the car. 'Damn...' Marko looked at him and his tongue was practically hanging out. The car spun out as it drove off and Paul laughed as he jumped on his bike. 'We're set! Let's get fucked up and find our own fine pussies.' Marko smiled back at him and booted his bike to life. Paul was elated, he was always happier when he was holding, especially when they had plans for the following evening.

They met back up with the boys and upon arriving, Paul jumped off and began rolling up as soon as was practically possible.

'Where'd you meet these guys?' David asked as he perused the stash that Paul had returned with.

'Friend of that dude in Bakersfield. You know, the one who we got that huge bag of coke from, the real good shit before we hooked off to Vegas last month?'

'Right...' David nodded. 'So, this should be quality?'

'Oh yeah...' Paul smiled as he sealed the first joint. David flicked on a light and Paul took the first hit before passing it to his leader and beginning to roll the next one. Once they had all got nicely smashed, they went and fed and headed back to their cave home for the night.

It was Christmas Eve the following night and the boys were in fine form having ingested copious amounts of Paul's smoke. David definitely approved of the quality and with the way he felt, everything Paul had possession of could have been damn near pure it was that good. They had been down at the stage for a couple of hours and both Paul and Marko had already enjoyed some of the delights of the members of the female population currently on the beach, of which there were many. David was on his 500th cigarette when he decided it was time for them all to go visit their elder and wish him a rather condescending Merry Christmas. He liked messing with Max when he was fucked up. The boys walked in and spread out around the store, knocking videos off the shelves, pocketing stock and playing with the fellow patrons, although if you asked Max, he would say intimidating his customers. Max held a steel glare upon David at his appearance, and when the boys didn't cease their behaviour, he left his post behind the counter and approached his son.

'What do you think you are doing in here in that state?' Max said under his breath, trying not to cause any more of a scene but all he got from David was a chuckle and Max's demeanour changed. 'Get out!' He yelled at him and he stormed off towards Marko to usher him out the door. 'Leave! Go on, get out of here before I call security.' He grabbed Paul by the jacket and threw him towards the exit and, although it looked like a small shove, the power behind it wasn't lost on any of the boys and David and Dwayne followed him out the door. David sauntered over to his bike, still smirking. 'That's the last time David! I've had it with your shit.' Max's voice boomed inside his head which only made him chuckle again. Max was serious though, David had been too disruptive and misbehaving too much lately and Max knew he was going to have to do something about it.

'We're out.' David announced, straddling his bike and firing it loudly to life.

'Let's find some ladies! I've got an urge that isn't going to be relieved around here.' Paul cried out, his bike grunting in unison with David's. Dwayne silently started his up and Marko smiled at Paul as he did the same. The boys took of back to the beach, where the bulk of the people were gathered, and they spent the rest of the night enjoying whichever female bodies took their fancies and, once they were done, they disposed of the evidence and headed back to their cavernous home.

'I'm impressed.' David said out loud, addressing no one in particular, and holding out a joint to his second in command. Dwayne took it, looking up at David and smiling at him once he saw the black saucers staring back at him.

'Yeah, you are...' Paul replied. 'I told you it would be quality.'

'You did,' David plonked down into his steel chair, 'and I want you to cultivate that relationship and get more.' He said, leaning his head back and closing his eyes, his leather gloved hand running through his hair. 'Lots more.'


	2. He Sees Her

A week later Paul had organised to meet with Ben, only this time at an aesthetically pleasing yet relatively seedy bar that indulged in 'extra services'. The boys pulled up outside, drawing the usual attention, and approached the doorman, who suitably scrutinized them.

'Pay the entrance fee.' The burly bouncer said as he allowed them past and David slid a look to Paul.

'It's all good...' Paul said slapping him on the back.

'Dude, I don't even wanna be here socializing with this guy, let alone paying to get into this place. I just want his product.' David said to Paul, then as he turned his head to look at the door girl, he came face to face with a doe eyed, porcelain skinned beauty and his dead heart pumped a hard, sluggish beat which rocked his chest. Paul paid the door fee but David was barely conscious of the transaction for his eyes were too busy taking everything about her in. Her long dark wavy hair framed her face beautifully and her eyes were a light amber shade of brown that he couldn't stop staring at.

'Hey!' Paul said, recognising her as she handed him back a $10 bill. 'Any more like you inside?' Her deep red lips parted into a perfect smile that sent shivers into David's very soul, which hadn't happened in all the decades he'd been turned. Who was this girl? He wanted to know more but before he could, Marko pushed him out of the door way and into the club. Dwayne stood for a heartbeat longer, locking eyes with the girl before he too followed the other three inside. Paul led them over to a table in the corner of the room where two men sat. 'Hey!' Paul smiled, happy to see the man that provided him with his party favours.

'Introductions first.' The man said, motioning to the rest of Paul's friends.

'Ahhh, this is Marko,' Paul said slapping Marko's shoulder,who was standing beside him, ' And that's David and Dwayne.' He finished, pointing to each as he spoke their names. Dwayne was facing them, watching them silently but David was still distracted by the door girl and not paying too much attention, only turning when he heard his name. He surveyed the two men with his usual arrogant superiority and David's compulsion for control in this situation took over him.

'So, whatcha got?' Paul took a seat beside one of the men and David cleared his throat prompting Paul to look up at him. 'Oh, right, this is Ben and Carl.' He told his brothers and the rest of them pulled in chairs and joined them. David scanned the room as Paul conducted the negotiations, and he noticed the place was emptying out faster than a drain yet none of the bouncers or bar men were addressing or even caring about the blatant deal happening in the middle of the place.


	3. Treacle

'Who are they?' The girl's boss asked her after watching the interaction between her and the men who had just walked inside.

'I don't know, but I think one of them is friends with Ben.' She answered, not really wanting to engage in too much conversation with the man who was standing a little too close behind her. The man was fairly creepy at the best of times but tonight he was being a little too hands on with her. He was touchy with all the girls who worked there, not just her, but she was one of the only ones who hadn't succumb to his advances in the false hope of more money or a promotion like the other girls. He was somewhat jealous of guys that showed an interest in her which she found weird as she already had a boyfriend, he wasn't the greatest boyfriend in her opinion, but the choices around here were few and far between and she'd known him most of her teen years. It was New Year's Eve and the club was about to close and that suited her just fine.

'Cash out the register and bring it out the back. I'll be waiting.' He boss told her, and he stroked his hand along her lower back as he walked past her and back into the club. She cringed. She hated going out the back alone with him, but it didn't look like she was going to get out of it tonight. She withdrew the cash draw and slowly made her way through the dark club towards the small dark room where he waited. As she moved through the room, she was surprised to see both the bars had already closed and most of the staff had left except for some of the girls who were seated on or around the men who were seated with Ben and Carl at the table in the corner. The table top was busy with drinks and the sweet aroma of pot that permeated the room was strong and she was slightly surprised her boss was allowing what was happening to transpire. As she made her way across the room, she noticed 3 pairs of eyes following her, one belonged to the loud long haired blond next to Ben, who she now recognised from the other night, and another to the dark haired, incredibly sexy Native looking guy but the ones that seemed to penetrate her the most were the piercing light blue bulbs belonging to the platinum blond who drew her attention the most. Not surprisingly, none of them belonged to her boyfriend. She continued out the back to complete her job and prayed her boss would keep his hands to himself.


	4. Discord

He watched the door girl disappear and his passing interest was replaced by a rolled up $20 bill and a powder covered mirror to which he happily indulged. Normally he wouldn't even entertain the idea of maintaining any kind of social relationship with any of Paul's drug contacts but this one was particularly good and the girls that came with him were a nice touch for the night. Dwayne had one on his knee stroking his arm and another next to him all starry eyed and cock struck. The man was a chick magnet, they all were really, but Dwayne had that tall dark brooding thing going on and they just couldn't resist. Marko was the king of coy and with his cherub baby good looks, he oozed vulnerability which made the girls want to mother him, inevitably leading them into doing whatever he wanted them to. Paul on the other hand had the gift of the gab, charming them and making them laugh, leaving them like putty in his hands. It was all too easy for him and he went through them like Skittles. Of all the girls that were there, David's boys had the lions share, David himself though, had his reservations about getting close to anyone they associated with. He was a fuck and feed type of guy and he couldn't exactly do that when he and his boys were the last ones to be seen with them, so short of the drugs, this felt very much like a waste of his time, especially on New Year's Eve. He inhaled another large line and passed it on to Dwayne.

'So, does it pass the quality test?' Ben asked once the coke had made the rounds.

'Yeah!' Paul laughed, grabbing the head of the red headed girl near him and shoving his tongue down her throat.

'Right, so we have a deal?'  
'Yeah, we do, and I want those two ounces of smoke too.' David said.

'$1800' Carl gave the price and, although David was loathed to pay anyone for anything, he was again not in a position to compel his way out of anything tonight, so he nodded to Dwayne who pulled out a wad of notes and the deal was done. David was ready to leave when suddenly the door girl appeared and he was again struck by how stunning this girl actually was, so much so that his attention was being sucked to his right, where she stood and he almost couldn't take his eyes off her. This hadn't happened to him since Max had dragged him to this hick town. He forced himself to look away and saw that Dwayne had seen his reaction to the girl.

'You know her?' He silently asked him, and David minutely shook his head.

'Hey! There she is!' Ben exclaimed grabbing her hip and pulling her closer to him, and it was then that David realised she was his girlfriend.

'Sit down and join us!' He said, and her eyes scanned the table and looked at the eclectic crew seated around the table and she pulled away from him.

'No. Ben, I want to go home.' She declined his offer and in David's opinion looked a little nervous. 'We're going to the New Year's Eve Festival down on the Boardwalk. Sit.' He said without even looking at her. Carl leaned forward staring at her and he smiled at her and she averted her eyes, looking a bit sick. David picked up on the exchange and he knew something wasn't right between the two of them and if she was David's girlfriend, he'd wanna know what the fuck his mate had been up to. Ben, however, was oblivious to whatever was going on, in fact he seemed to not pay that much attention at all to the girl which David found interesting as she was the only shiny thing in here.

'No, I'm not. I'm going home.' She said again, pulling out a set of car keys and walking off. Ben watched her leave and sighed.

'Fucking females.'

'Fuck her off dude, we got plenty of better options here.' Carl said to him and Ben smiled, and it looked like he was actually considering it. Meanwhile David was fighting the urge to go after the girl and that in itself was unheard of for him. He never gave a shit about anyone, especially some bitch he didn't even know.

'Am I right?' Carl asked David.

'Don't ask me, there's a reason I don't have one on my arm.' David replied, finding it interesting that Carl was trying to get Ben to ignore her and to fuck around with these lesser chicks here at his girlfriend's work. Carl was a cunning fucker. Ben rolled his eyes and stood up.

'I gotta go talk to the bitch, you guys go, and I'll meet you down there.' He said, and he left after her.


	5. New Year's Eve

The boys saw another year in off their faces, right in the middle of the action, however New Year's always made David feel introspective and, while the other three partied with the myriad of people surrounding them, he sat back and watched the ocean roll in on the shore, smoking a cigarette and he contemplated his eternal existence.

'Things are going to change David.' Max's cold voice broke through the noise of the crowd and David didn't even turn to look at him. 'Did you hear me? I'm over it David!' David sucked in another lungful of smoke and continued to ignore him. 'David!' Max barked, and David turned his head.

'Yeah, yeah.' David reluctantly acknowledged him, and Max stormed off. David sighed and watched him meld in with the crowd. This would be the year he would break from the old man, he'd been under his thumb for too long and his time for independence had come. He flicked his cigarette butt away and got up to join his boys. A few hours later it was time the boys fed before the dawn began lighting up the horizon and they split off, as there were too many people around to be able to hunt in a pack.

Paul had just disposed of his kill right down the other end of the beach near the cliffs and he was washing the evidence off of him when he noticed a girl on her own. He flicked the water off his hands and walked a little closer to her and he saw what looked to be Ben's girlfriend stumbling along the sand.

'Star!' He called out to her and she stopped and peered into the darkness at him. He trotted up towards her and he could see she'd been crying.

'Oh, hi.' She said , and she looked him up and down. 'Why are you wet?'

'I just had a quick dip.' He smiled at her.

'On your own? In your clothes?' She asked him , and he shrugged his shoulders. 'Right... Well, have a good night.' She said , and she went to walk away.

'Wait, where are you going?' He asked, and it was her turn to shrug. 'Where's Ben?' The question made her look away, the tears forming again.

'He um... I don't know. We had a fight and he's left me here.' She admitted , and Paul watched her for a second.

'So... Where are you going?' She looked at him and wiped a fallen tear from her cheek. 'Come on.' He held out his hand to her and she looked at it.

'What?'

'Come on, we're going to go sit over there and have a smoke and chill you out and then maybe we can find somewhere for you to sleep for the night.' She was still hesitant , and he gave her his cheesiest grin and she folded. In all honesty, his proposition sounded perfect to her , so she took his hand and walked with him. Even with a tear stained face, Paul still thought she was beautiful in the glow of the moonlight and he wondered if he'd be able to get away with a bit of slap and tickle with this one tonight before it was home time. He led her up to the embankment and pulled out a nicely pre-rolled joint. They sat and made small talk together but he avoided talking about what had happened between her and Ben tonight, he was having fun with her now she was stoned, and he didn't want to ruin his chances by bringing up her boyfriend.

'Alright, let's find Paul and get the fuck outta here' David said once Marko had been located. David tried to contact him mentally , but he got no response, which annoyed him. Paul's insubordination when he was high grated on David's nerves.

'Have you picked up on him?' David asked Dwayne as they walked down further from the Boardwalk and out onto the beach. Dwayne could track anyone down, especially his brethren. Dwayne stood still for a second and closed his eyes.

'This way.' He pointed to his right. 'He's down here.' David headed in that direction and before too long he could hear the familiar cackle of his more full on brother and he saw him sitting on the grassy edge next to a girl. Typical. But as David got closer, she wasn't just some girl, she was the door girl from the club and again he felt a stirring in his gut. They were so engrossed with each other, neither of them noticed the boys approaching them.

'Well... what's going on here?' David openly judged them as he stalked around from beside them to in front of them, but Paul paid him no mind, he was used to being judged by David.

'Hey Dave, where you guys been?' Paul leaned back on his elbows.

'Around.' David's elusive response didn't surprise him. 'But this looks a little more interesting.' He said staring directly at the now nervous looking girl. 'Hello again.' David addressed her in his smooth dulcet tone and she looked up at him.

'Hi' She replied quietly.

'What are you doing here all alone?'

'She's not alone, she's having a smoke with me. This is Star.' Paul smiled , and David slid his cool stare to him making Paul's smile fade.

'Star... Where's your boyfriend, Star?' David questioned her , and the atmosphere changed.

'He's not my boyfriend anymore.' She answered him, looking away.

'Didn't like you fucking his best mate huh?' He peeled layers off her as he watched her gorgeous eyes shoot back to him. David was a complex dude, even when he found someone intoxicatingly beautiful, when he wanted to be, he could still be a cruel bastard, especially when he was under the influence.

'I have never slept with him.' She replied sternly.

'Really...' His stare was boring holes into her. 'That's why he was looking at you across the table the way he was.' David was challenging her , and nobody knew why. David never bothered with anyone unless there was something in it for him but in this case, he had a genuine interest in the girl and he wanted to see how she would cope with him poking her. Her looks had captivated him, now he needed to test her character and see how strong she was. That, and he was bored. He was also fucking with Paul in an indirect way too which was always fun.

'Yeah, really. I have never, would never...' She trailed off not wanting to divulge too much information to these boys.

'So , what happened tonight then?' Star felt the heavy gaze of all four of them upon her and she suddenly felt the urge to leave.

'Nothing.' She said, her voice cracking a little and she stood up.

'Star... What happened.' He pressed , and his voice reverberated in her chest. She looked over at him and the longer she investigated his eyes, the more she felt like she was falling. She found she couldn't help herself, she had to answer him.

'Carl has just... put his hands where they weren't welcome.' She said quietly, desperately wanting to leave now. 'And he has told me that he will say anything to break Ben and I up and he did. Ben believed his bullshit, and he kicked me out of the car, my car, and left me here.' The wind had picked up and her high had worn off a little and she put her jacket back on giving David an opportunity to appreciate the lean, slender body before him and he had to admit, physically, she excited him. She was wearing a short black mini skirt, black boots and a coloured floaty top which was now beneath a black jacket with gold detailing and he wanted to slide his hands under that jacket and feel her smooth white skin against his. This girl had awakened feelings within him that he thought were as dead as his cold black heart and he was more than just intrigued with the girl, he had a weird compulsion to keep her. He didn't care about what she had to say anymore, he just wanted her to be with him. Paul stood up next to her and went to place his arm around her , but David instantly put him in his place.

'Hands off.' David projected into Paul's head and Paul froze, feeling the heat of David's glare. 'Don't you touch her.' Dwayne and Marko looked at each other and Paul felt like a treasure hunter whose largest golden nugget had just been taken. David had staked his claim and it was done and Dwayne hadn't seen him do this since the 20's. This girl was a game changer.

The sound of the odd bird began chirping and David realised that he'd run out of time tonight.

'So , Star, where are you off to tonight?' She was asked but she was more aware of Paul's withdrawal and suddenly she felt a tinge of fear being alone with these guys.

'I'm going to see if there are any rooms available along Main Beach, but being New Year's, I'm not too confident,' She looked back over towards the dimming lights. She was lying, she had come down to this end of the beach to sleep but she didn't want to tell them that. 'But I'll be fine.' She began to step away. 'I better go.' She said slinging her draw string bag over her shoulder. 'Thank you.' She reached out and touched Paul's arm and she again felt their intense stares upon her. She turned and took a few steps before she to look at the men behind her again, finding the fierce blond's eyes almost glowing in the darkness with a half-smile smeared across his angular face. She turned and walked a little more purposefully reaching the sidewalk and she turned once more but the beach was empty. She looked in both directions but there was no one to be seen anywhere which freaked her out so she picked up her pace and headed towards the nearest motel.


	6. New Year's Resolution

The boys woke the next night still half cut from the night before, so they topped up and headed out again.

'What was last night about?' Paul asked David after they'd parked up their bikes and David shrugged as he lit up his cigarette.

'I don't know. I was bored, and she was just there, I guess.' He said, walking  
off. 'What were you doing with her?'

'Man, she's hot. And when I saw her on the beach alone...'

'You got a chubby.' Marko finished his sentence.

'Bro, I got a chubby now just thinkin about her.' Paul agreed with him.

'And that's why I took her.' David smirked, and Paul stopped, his jaw dropping a little.

'You're a real asshole, you know that?' Paul remarked, and David laughed.

'Yeah... And?' David sucked in more smoke and walked on further. Paul was so easy to wind up.

'Come on Lover Boy.' Dwayne flung his arm over Paul's shoulder and they followed behind Marko. David tried to tell himself that was all it was, that he couldn't care less whether he saw her again and he literally was just fucking with Paul, but it wasn't. The girl had his attention. He agreed with Paul, he was hot, and she held a definite appeal like no other had for him. She shone like her name sake, she was the only thing that had truly piqued his interest in years and he knew he had to find her. He couldn't let on that this was what he was feeling though so for now, it was business as usual and he was on the hunt for tonight's fuck and feed. The boys reached their peak fairly quickly and just as quickly found their respective enjoyment for the evening, but David wasn't satisfied. As pretty as the female in front of him was, his thoughts were still consumed by Star. Her semidetached demeanour intrigued him, he'd never had a girl behave that way in his presence and even her vulnerability, which would annoy him on anyone else, attracted him.

He could feel his possessive nature was beginning to kick in, despite the fact he didn't even know the girl and he was regretting letting her go last night.

'What's wrong? Don't you like your appetizer?' Dwayne projected to David as they sat in a small bar around a small table just south of the Boardwalk parking lot. David's eyebrow twitched in response to his question and he took another sip of his bourbon before he studied the girl pawing at his jacket with a high level of apathy. He was bored, Dwayne could see it and it was usually a bad sign when David was bored, he was very dangerous when he was bored. Suddenly he pushed the girl off him and slid his empty glass across the table.

'I gotta go. I'll see you lot later.' He announced and promptly left.

'What the... Where's he going?' Paul asked, and Dwayne gave him a knowing look which Paul knew straight away to drop it and he looked over at the rejected girl.

'Don't worry sweetheart, there's plenty of me to go around.' He leaned over and pulled her to him and his attention was now with two girls.

As David strode back to his ride, he was flooded with what he could only describe as excitement and it had him reeling. What was it about this girl that had him so enamoured? He was determined to find her. Star. His Star. He was already seeing her as his property and he was impatient to take her as his own.


	7. The Hunt

He quietly searched for her over the next week, along the Boardwalk, down on the Cliffs, hell, he even went to her work looking for her, but she proved more elusive than he'd anticipated, and it was making him irritated and considerably less tolerant than usual. He'd been smoking like a train, both ciggys and pot, and they were just about out which had him on edge too.

'What is with you?' Marko finally confronted him after another unnecessary outburst from his elder brother.

'Nothing.' David spat, fucked off he didn't know where else to go to look for her and feeling like he'd exhausted all avenues.

'Dude, you have been shitty for days, what the fuck?' Paul backed Marko's sentiment.

'Just leave it. Have you located Ben yet?' He growled.

'Nah, he's gone AWOL. Fuck knows where he is.' Paul said, rolling the last of the smoke into a couple of fat joints.

'Fuck.' David swore. 'Let's get a drink.' He said, grabbing his jacket and leaving their rocky home without a pause for the others.

He rode fast out of Santa Carla and headed south east and inland, pulling up outside an old wooden box of a bar out in the desert. David was pleased as he climbed off his bike.

'Where are we?' Dwayne asked once the noise of the bikes had died. 'Have we been here before?'

'You tell me.' David said back and cocked his eyebrow as he looked at him. Dwayne was now fascinated and almost excited to get inside, Marko, however, looked at the place with an evident reservation plastered across his face as he watched the first two walk in the old doors. Paul surveyed the parking lot and spotted a car he recognised down the end of the lot, which perked him up no end, before he looked over at Marko and laughed at his expression.

'What the fuck man? What a hole, this place looks like it's stuck in 1860.' Marko complained.

'Oh, don't worry bro, I'll soon have something to take your mind off it.' Marko looked at him skeptically and Paul put his arm around Marko's shoulder and laughed again. He then guided him into the dusty, smoke filled room and up to the wooden bar when David ordered, and actually paid, for some drinks and they made their way to a booth near the window. Dwayne looked around the place filled with brown leather and cowboy boots and the air of familiarity about the place got stronger. He felt like he was having deja vu. He looked back at David to find him staring back at him, his grin widening.

'Remember?' David said to him and suddenly it hit Dwayne like a bullet and he was legitimately shocked and couldn't believe he hadn't clicked as soon as he had pulled up outside.

'Holy Shit!' He exclaimed, looking around again with almost a fresh set of eyes.

'What?' Marko said glancing from Dwayne to David and back again.

'This is where I met David, and consequently Max.' Dwayne explained, analyzing the chattels of the structure.

'Told you this place was from the dark ages,' Marko said to Paul, throwing a round paper coaster at him but Paul's attention was elsewhere.

'They've done some cosmetic work but the skeleton is basically still the same eh?' Dwayne mentioned and David nodded looking around.

'Yeah, shame they got rid of those massive chandeliers though.' David agreed.

'Remember those antlers they had over there? And the mirror the size of the wall behind the bar?' Dwayne asked and David began laughing.

'You mean the one I broke?'

'Fuck, you did too.' They both laughed and Marko screwed up his nose.

'Still a shit hole.' He said to his drink and David and Dwayne sat there and laughed at him. David then noticed Paul's absence from their conversation and he looked at him, seeing his nervous knee shaking tick going on.

'What's up with you?' David asked but Paul was miles away. 'Hey.' David slapped his arm and Paul's head turned.

'Huh? I gotta take a piss.' Paul said looking anxious and he got up and walked the long way around the bar to the bathroom. As he exited and walked back towards the bar, he saw Ben, Carl and two others walk in the rear entrance, stinking of weed, and they went and sat in the back area around the corner next to the pool table and Paul bounced back to the booth where the boys were seated. 'Come on, I wanna play pool.' He punched Marko's shoulder and Marko slowly looked up at him.

'You wanna lose again?' Marko joked, a sly grin creeping across his face.

'Yeah, whatever...' Paul dismissed his comment and walked off, almost excitedly.

'The dude is fucking bi polar.' Marko said to the remaining two at the table, downing his drink and getting up to follow him.

'Alright,' Dwayne said once the other two had left. 'You gonna tell me what's going on?' His question elicited a sideways glance from his oldest brother. David had come to the conclusion that if he couldn't find the girl, he was going to have to enlist the help of his Indian sibling so he was going to have to divulge his vulnerable desire for a female but he was struggling with his own reasoning as to why it had to be her. He nursed his drink for a minute before he answered him.

'I've found something I want.' David said, carefully and took a sip of his drink, it was strong.

'So? You find something you want every night.'

'Yeah, well this is something I actually want to keep... and now I can't find it anymore.' David was being cryptic and Dwayne looked at him with a furrowed brow.

'What is it?' Dwayne asked suspecting he knew what or who it was but before David answered, he heard Paul laughing and he looked over to see Paul playing pool with Ben and David instantly got up and walked over to join them. Dwayne followed and they positioned themselves at a leaner along the wall next to the table so David could scan the area for that which he was seeking but to his disappointment, she wasn't there. He stood and watched Paul charm and coerce the dealer to get what he wanted out of him, no wonder Paul had perked up, he was just as eager to catch up with Ben as David was to see Star and now he was struggling with how he was going to find out where she was without just coming out and asking Ben and he figured he was going to have to get him alone and compel the information out of him. About an hour of superficial conversation later, David wanted to leave , he'd decided for himself that Carl was a dick and getting Ben alone wasn't proving as easy as he'd thought it would be either. Now he knew he was back in town , he would wait a few days and watch him and eventually he'd get the desired information out of him, even if he'd have to kill him to get it.

'Paul, get your shit and let's go.' David projected to him, stubbing out his cigarette and Paul got up from the table and walked over to his brother.

'We're just gonna have this first, then I'll go see what else he's got and we'll bounce.' David's eyes glazed over and Paul smiled. He followed the men outside onto the old decking surrounding the place, leaned over the railing and looked out into the dark desert while Paul lit up the joint and got nicely stoned out in the parking lot with the others but David remained on the deck alone, he'd had enough and really wasn't interested in prolonging being here if Star wasn't there, he was feeling edgy again and needed to feed. They were out there longer than David wanted to be but he had to admit, the product was worth the extra wait so he accepted it. Paul and Marko went back inside while Dwayne came and stood with David for a post joint cigarette. They spoke about the past, about old memories that this place brought back for them and David recognised a hint of sadness his unusually chatty, old friend's eyes. Dwayne had been through a lot before David had met him and Max had inducted him, and in the age they were living in and the state Dwayne was in at the time, David could only imagine what that entailed.

'Go in and find out what's taking him so long, would you?' David sent Dwayne back in when Paul hadn't reappeared in half an hour. David stood there impatiently, waiting for Paul and wanting his feed, when he heard movement around behind the bar and the hunter in him came alive. The looked around and contemplated the feasibility of making a kill right here. He was reckless at the best of times, but once he'd had a few drinks and he was a bit fucked up, there was no telling what he'd do. His boots clicked on the wooden floor as he slowly looked around, it was dark enough for no one to see what he was doing and he prepared himself for a quick attack as he walked around the corner but he was surprised with what he saw.


	8. Blast From The Past

When he peered around the back of the bar, his heart skipped a beat when he saw Star was sitting beneath the window against the wall with her arms wrapped around her knees. She was wearing a long white layered gypsy skirt, a tight white singlet under the same jacket from the last time he saw her and black cowgirl boots. Her hair was up but she had small sections falling in her face and down her neck and wore shiny dangling silver earrings. Her indifferent reaction to his presence perplexed him and almost annoyed him a little.

'Hello.' He said , and she glanced at him then looked back out at the dark star littered sky.

'Hi,' She answered him. She looked tired.

'Why are you out here and not inside?' He inquired, leaning back so he could see inside the window. He saw Paul still sitting at the table with Ben and Carl but David wasn't so adamant on leaving anymore.

'I prefer it out here. The stars are so much brighter out here in the desert.' She said, prompting him to look up at her name sakes then he looked back down and regarded the girl on the ground. She looked so small.

'I though you split from him.' He addressed the elephant in the room.

'I did, but he came looking for me the next day and I had nowhere else to go so I went back with him. Plus, I wanted my car back.' She half smiled as she spoke but he did not, this is not what he wanted to hear. 'Why are you out here?' She looked up at him.

'I don't particularly like your boyfriend's friend.' He admitted and she nodded.

'Neither,' She said looking away again and he body language spoke volumes.

'Are we outta here or what?' Paul's loud voice interrupted them and suddenly everyone was outside. 'I told them they could come back down to Santa Carla with us.' Star stood up and David glared at Paul but when he saw the size of his pupils, he knew why he'd been so careless. David glanced at Dwayne and he just shrugged his shoulders. Paul was a pain in the ass sometimes.

'Where have you been?' Ben grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, making David's unwarranted jealousy spike. 'We're going down to Santa Carla.' Ben told her before she had a chance to answr his question.

'You go with Carl, I'm just going to go home.' She said seeing the state of everyone and sensing that tonight would not go so smoothly if she went. Ben halted and looked at her briefly.

'Ugh, whatever...' He dismissed her and walked off, with Paul and Marko following him. David and Dwayne backed off but when Carl moved towards hr, they both stopped. She looked back out at the cold still desert and Carl walked up next to her and stood a little too close to her, invading her space. David watched, not liking the way he was looking at her.

'Come and play. Have a hit and you'll feel better.' He pulled her jacket open and ran his eyes over her as he spoke to her and she pulled her jacket out of his grasp and wrapped it around her body again telling him to stop. Carl moved in even closer so his chest was touching her shoulder and his mouth was just above her ear. 'You know you want it Star. I can smell it on you.' He spoke so low that only she could hear him except David caught it also and his eyes turned dark. Carl let out a quiet chuckle and walked away to catch up to Ben, leaving her standing there feeling awkward and icky and even more like she didn't want to go anywhere with these boys. David had just witnessed what she had spoken about on the beach and he saw that Carl was either incredibly ballsy or incredibly stupid to do that with her boyfriend in the vicinity, not that Ben noticed, but he'd seen all he needed to see and he wasn't letting her out of his sight now, no matter what anyone else said, including her. She looked over and saw the stark blond and brooding brunette still standing there and she looked away, her cheeks hot with embarrassment over what they'd obviously just seen and David stepped towards her.

'Come on.' David said to her in his smoothest most enticing tone and she looked at him. 'Come with me.'

'Are you kidding? You just saw that, why would I want to go anywhere with him there?' He walked closer to her and she looked up at him and tried not to look surprised at the intensity of his gaze.

'Because I want you to. I won't let anything happen to you.' She stared at the strange man in the long black trench coat and she began to feel a pulling sensation, like she was being sucked forward by some gravitational force that had her and she found herself changing her mind and wanting to be with him. The blond walked away joining the man with the long dark hair and she felt almost an unnatural urge to follow them, so she did. When she reached the parking lot, she heard their friend Paul calling out from Carl's car window telling the two men ahead of her that he and Marko were going with Ben and Carl and that they could go with her in her car and they'd all meet on the Boardwalk, before a cloud of dust appeared and a pair of tail lights drifted down the road. The two men looked at each other and then turned and looked at her and she felt alone, vulnerable and very alone. 'Where's your car?' The blond asked her.

'It's the black one at the end of the lot.' She pointed to the small but surprisingly nice four door hatch. He didn't want to leave his bike out here but he suspected that if he didn't accompany her, he would lose her and that wasn't a chance he was willing to take.

'Hand 'em over.' He stated, holding out his hand and she looked at him incredulously. 'Girl, do I look like I'd ride shotgun?' The dark haired man actually smiled for the first time and she couldn't help but smile also and she gave the enigmatic man her keys.

'What are you doing?' Dwayne projected to David as they walked the length of the parking lot.

'Good question, ah... I don't really know.' David said honestly and suddenly Dwayne clicked.

'You've found what you want, haven't you?' Dwayne said as they reached the car. David unlocked the car and looked at him over the roof for a second then back at Star and he nodded. Dwayne nodded too and went to open the passenger side door.

'In the back.' He was told and he stopped and stared at David, instantly knowing he was serious and opening the door wider for the girl and watching her as she meekly climbed in. He closed the door and smirked as he opened the back door and slid himself in.


	9. Riding in Cars with Boys

Star felt odd sitting in the passenger seat of her own car with two strangers and as he pulled out of the parking lot, it dawned on her how insane what she was doing actually was. He drove faster than she was used to and took the bends a little more recklessly than she liked but she tried not to let it show.  
'So,... What's your name?' She asked, her eyes firmly fixed out the window, but when she got no response, she looked over at him and found those brutal blue eyes upon her again.

'David. That's Dwayne.' He answered, the tyres squealing as he took the next bend.

'I'm Star.' She said nervously.

'I know.' His lip curled.

'Right, of course.' She felt embarrassed. She'd never had anyone look at her the way he did and she glanced back at Dwayne, who lay relaxed on the back seat watching her and his look wasn't any more comforting.

'So... How often does Carl pull that shit?' He asked and she closed her eyes, unnerved by the bluntness of his question. She turned her head towards the window and opened her eyes. 'It's not like we don't know, you've already spoken about it.'

'I said that when I was stoned and I didn't think I would ever see you guys again.' She admitted, still not looking at him. There was a pause in the conversation and she wished the seat would catapult her out of the car.

'Star...' He said her name like he'd said it a thousand times before and she looked at him and felt that pulling in her stomach again along with the need to answer him.

'It used to be only every so often but now it's whenever he has the chance.' She swallowed thickly, like her throat didn't want her to speak the words.

'Even in front of Ben?' He asked.

'Yeah, he's getting more bold... and pushy.'

'Huh...' David mused and she felt a little sick.

'I don't really want to talk about this any longer.' She shut the conversation down and he let it go, he knew all he needed to about that fucker. The car went quiet, so quiet that soon she couldn't stand it and had to fill the void.

'What do you guys do?' She asked looking sideways at the imposing figure driving her car.

'Whatever we want.' David answered her and she heard Dwayne let out a breathy chuckle in the back. She looked back at him and he was looking from her to David and back again with a subdued smile on his face, like he knew something she didn't.

'Oh... OK.' She turned back around and said, feeling like they were making fun of her. She was over being in this car with them and was regretting deciding to go already. These guys were weird.

'How long have you worked at Treacle?' Dwayne asked her.

'A while.' She said absentmindedly, almost trying to tune out from them.

'How long have you been with Ben?' David asked her and she creased her eyebrows and looked at him.

'You're very interested in Ben and Carl aren't you?' She challenged him but he didn't budge. She couldn't see it wasn't them he was interested, it was her.

'How long?' He insisted.

'A while.' She repeated and he glared at her. 'For four years. He was a friend of my brother's and when he moved here, I left school and came with him.'

'Where are you from, Star?' The way he said her name sent shivers through her and she hoped they would reach the Santa Carla coast soon, she didn't really want to be alone with these guys too much longer.

'New Mexico. Where are you from?' She found herself asking but she wasn't sure why because she really didn't care where he was from.

'London.' His answer surprised her.

'You don't sound very English.'

'It was a long time ago.' He said and she wasn't sure if he was messing with her or not.

'How old are you?' She asked, looking him up and down but he only laughed at her question and pressed his foot on the accelerator. They rounded a few more bends in silence then the lights of the main beach pier became visible to her and she briefly forgot about the strange men she was riding with and instead focused on the shapes the rides on the Boardwalk made in the darkness. He didn't seem to slow down, even as he entered the streets of Santa Carla, he drove the roads like a race track driver, like he'd been driving them his whole life and she began to get a bit worried he'd get pulled over. Suddenly the car lurched to a stop and in one swift move he was out of the car and Dwayne got out behind her but she sat there grateful the bizarre car ride was over. Her door swung open and Dwayne stood there holding his hand out ready to help her out of the car and, as awkward as it felt, she accepted his assistance and stepped out onto the sidewalk. She turned around to find David right in front of her, the second time tonight that a man had stood a little too close to her, and she found it almost hard to breathe. He remained in her space until the intensity between them became unbearable and she felt forced to look up at him but as soon as she did, she was overcome with that same sensation again, like she was drunk and floating and kind of numb.

'Come on' She felt his hand slide around her upper arm and gently pull her with him down the path and toward the fair grounds. As her feet began to move, she began to feel a little more normal and she went to pull her arm from his grasp but he held on tighter before reluctantly letting her go.

'Have you got my keys?' She asked, holding her hand out in front of him.

'Yeah, I do.' He said, striding forward without handing them back to her.

'Hey!' A voice broke their interaction and she looked over and saw the other four men standing beneath the Boardwalk sign.


	10. Bad Decision

He had no intention of giving her keys back to her, it was just one of the myriad of ways he was going to manipulate the events, and eventual outcome, of this evening. As they approached the men, Star veered away towards Ben and David watched him put his arm around her and kiss her and his stomach churned. Dwayne noticed the way David was watching the couple and he saw the true nature of his interest in the girl, David never showed any interest in anything or anyone, unless he was on the hunt, and David was looking at them both like they were prey, only each would fulfil a different purpose for him.

'Oh, dude! These guys are the ultimate hook up!' Paul came over, obviously screamingly high. 'Take these.' He passed David a handful of pills. 'Holy shit bro, we're gonna be on it for a week!' He laughed and David examined the others then glanced at Dwayne as he handed him two of the little white pills. Dwayne swallowed them without hesitation then walked over to Marko just as Marko started giggling. By the looks of it the only two that hadn't taken anything were David and Star and he could over hear Ben trying to pressure her into ingesting two of them now and, judging by the size of her and the state of his boys, that would damn near kill her. He put one in her hand.

'No, not tonight.' She said looking away as he held her shoulders and leaned in closer to her.

'Fine, just take one. Come on, it's been ages since we really had some fun.' She awkwardly looked around to find everyone watching them and Ben pulled her away in the hopes to talk to he a little more privately and persuasively. 'Seriously, just one. You'll love it, and we can fuck all night long afterwards.' He kissed her and tried to put one in her mouth and she turned her head.

'No, I don't want to...' She pushed him away.

'Then why did you come?' He suddenly exploded, and shoved her away from him. 'You know Star, I'm getting really sick of your melancholy bullshit.' He turned and stormed off into the fair grounds and Carl followed him, leaving Star standing there alone and again feeling horribly embarrassed. Paul and Marko glanced at David and he silently told them to go and Dwayne also took the hint and he stood there watching her. She really didn't want to be there now and she held it together, walked over to David and, keeping her eyes to the ground, she asked for her keys again.

'Stay.' He told her. 'I will drive you home a little later.'

'Please, just give me my keys. I want to go home.' She insisted.

'I will drive you.' He said and she felt like she was going to scream, or cry, or both.

'Look, that's a very nice offer, and it was kind of you to drive me down here but I'm perfectly capable of driving myself and I just want to be alone right now.' She reinforced.

'Stay for an hour. One hour and if you still want to leave, I will escort you home. OK?' He reasoned with her, gently lifting her chin so she would look at him. She suddenly felt a calm come over her.

'One hour.' She agreed, and he watched as her resolve began to falter.

'One hour.' He smirked and she gave him a small smile.

'Why do you even care, you don't even know me.'

'Because I do.' He said, and he slowly stepped away and she followed him. They walked side by side in silence but in a weird way, she felt connected to him. At a slow pace they walked further, without speaking, but he found there was no uncomfortable silence between them. Just an unusual peace.

'Are you seriously not going to take that?' He motioned to her hand.

'You gonna take yours?' She shot back and he was surprised she'd noticed. Not a lot of people surprised David these days, but this small gem of a girl had managed to twice now. He was becoming more and more infatuated with her and anxious to get her alone. They finally caught up to the others and, being around them, she wasn't sure why she had said yes to staying with him. Him and his boys were the strangest people she'd ever met. Paul was your typical drug fiend but the other three had some other ethereal quality that she couldn't quite identify. David was definitely the leader, his dominance was smothering but she couldn't work out the other two. Marko was a sweet looking guy, she was sure he was the youngest, and she could see the idolization he had of David but there was something else, something darker. Then there was Dwayne... God, Dwayne was stunning, like she didn't think she'd seen anyone even remotely comparable to him in her life but she could tell there was nothing more than a passing interest in the attention David was laying upon her, otherwise he was unemotional. They all were to an extent but she'd only seen him smile once and he never spoke. Paul, however, wouldn't shut up, especially after taking the pill. They strolled the Boardwalk, Star trailing the rest of them, with David lingering close by and she'd observed the rest of the rest of them deteriorate as the drugs had taken hold and that had confirmed her decision not to take the pill in her pocket. Ben, Paul and Marko walked into the Belly Dancer room but Dwayne and David stayed outside and smoked cigarettes while Star wandered off to the railing overlooking the beach and looked beyond the bonfires and out to the ocean rolling in on the sand. She began to think about what she was doing with  
her life and how it was time she made the move to leave and either go south

to LA or north to Portland and start again. She wasn't afraid of picking up and starting over, it was the getting away from Ben, and Carl, that was going to be the hard part. Suddenly she felt someone pressing up hard behind her and two hands were on the railing either side of her.

'I'm sorry.' Ben said in her ear and she turned her head to the side and he

kissed her cheek wrapping his arms around her waist. 'Did you take it? Mmmm, I can't wait to get you home.' He purred, rubbing his semi against her ass, obviously he'd enjoyed the show.

'Ben, don't.' She said, squirming out of his arms.

'Ugh, fucking hell girl!' He walked off frustrated and she felt even stronger about it being time she left. She turned to her left to see David and Dwayne standing adjacent and a little ways away from her, watching her and she semi rolled her eyes, thought for a minute then walked over to them. He watched her walk towards him after her second altercation with Ben and he felt something akin to an emotion. He felt like she was coming to him in a moment of need and he had a surge of superiority and power in regards to her.

'I'm ready to go now.' She said to him and he took one last drag of his cancer stick, judging her before he slowly nodded and threw his butt over the railing. He began to walk away but she halted and he could practically hear her internal conflict over him leaving with her but she quickly let it go and followed him to the exit.


	11. Saved by the Devil

David didn't even hesitate when they got to her car and he climbed into the driver's seat.

'Where do you live?' He asked as she pulled her seatbelt across her lap and clicked it into place.

'Just take me back to the bar and you can pick up your bike and I will go from there.'

'Where do you live.' He repeated, ignoring her comment like she'd never said anything and, similar to the way she decided to allow him to accompany her, she took a second and again let it go and gave him her address.

'You don't have to do this though. I'm not going to be very good company.' She admitted.

'I don't care.' He replied, pulling away and heading back out of Santa Carla. He drove smoother and slower this time, and there was no talking between the two of them, she just lay her head against the head rest and watched the dark shapes whiz by her window. Although she was essentially still riding with basically a total stranger, she no longer felt any anxiety or fear, in fact she felt nothing. She just wanted to go to sleep.

She directed him down a long driveway to a fairly modern but run down house that backed onto a large empty lot and he parked the car. She sat and looked over the house and he saw her sigh a little then she looked at him.

'Thank you.' She gave him a hint of a smile. 'How are you going to get home?'

'Don't you worry about that.' He answered exiting the car and striding up to the front door. She walked up behind him and held her hand out for her keys which he dropped into her hand. He held eye contact with her longer than necessary and he got the desired effect and she invited him in. He stepped inside , and was confronted with the most spectacular, ginormous picture of Jim Morrison he'd ever seen, it took up the whole wall in the room, floor to ceiling. He watched her as she turned the lights on and took her jacket off before she disappeared down the hallway and he look a brief look around.

'Is it just you and him that live here?' 'Yeah, but Carl is here most nights.' His eyes followed the lines of her thin frame and she stood there awkwardly.

'Ah... Would you like a drink... or something?' He remained in the same spot and continued to stare at her, trying to ascertain what it was about her that had him so captivated when she seemed to be rather apathetic about him as well as distant and detached from everyone else.

'Something...' He said before he slowly began walking around the room and she felt a chill go through her body.

'You probably want to go back and be with your mates, you don't have to stay.' She watched him warily as he stalked the room.

'Not yet. They can wait.' He walked past a hole in the wall and broke a piece of plaster off before walking back towards her. He gave her the once over to see if Ben had tried to put a hole into her but there was nothing he could see. He could hear her heart beating faster the closer in proximity he got to her , yet she stood her ground and looked up at him. 'Does he hit you?' He asked in a deep melodic voice and she shook her head. He stepped closer and she was frozen, completely absorbed by his hypnotic influence upon her. He placed his hand upon her cheek and he swore she stopped breathing. 'Star.' He said her name but her heart was thumping so hard in her ears that she barely heard him and she was scared he would see her shaking as she stood before him. Seconds felt like hours and she couldn't comprehend why being around him made her feel the way she did.

'Well, isn't this an interesting scene.' A familiar voice broke their connection and she just about died when she saw Carl leaning inside the front door frame. David dropped his hand but his eyes remained fixed in her. 'What the fuck is going on here?' He walked in like he owned the place and she was his girlfriend.

'Nothing, he just drove me home. What are you doing here?' She asked, walking away from David and into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water and David could see her hands were shaking. Now that Carl was here, he didn't know whether she was shaking because of Carl or himself, he suspected both.

'I noticed you had snuck away, I didn't know you had... company... though.' He glared down at her across the kitchen bench. 'Does Ben know you are here with him , alone?'

'I don't think he cares . ' She answered truthfully, without looking at him.

'Sorry?' He demanded.

'Look, David was just leaving.' She walked over to David and his cool icy stare slid down to her. 'Please,' she whispered, 'you have to go.' He could practically smell the fear emanating from her and he looked back at Carl to see the smug grin plastered on his face. 'Thank you for bringing me home.' She added and she took his arm and led him to the door. They stood at the door for a second and she closed her eyes and in that one motion, he would leave the house but, there was no way he was going to leave the property. He walked away, as if he was leaving, and she shut the door behind him while he walked to her car, leaned against the trunk and pulled out a cigarette.

Hearing the click of the latch, she knew she was now alone with Carl and Star's stomach sank.

'What did you think you were doing hooking off with that guy?' He launched as soon as they were alone.

'He just gave me a ride home is all.'

'It didn't look like it from what I saw.' He challenged the validity of her story and he moved closer to her.

'Yeah, well I don't see Ben here and whatever I do has nothing to do with you.' She said, side stepping him and heading back to the kitchen. Her house, which wasn't very big to begin with, felt even smaller and she had a foreboding feeling of being trapped especially when he also stepped into the kitchen. She instantly regretted showing David the door. She picked up her glass of water and tried to quench her dry mouth, when he came up behind her and pushed his body into hers, placing his hands either side of her on the bench, much the same way Ben had done less than 2 hours before hand.

'What were you going to do with him Star?' He leaned in on her. 'Were you going to fuck him? Huh? Was that what you were going to do? Spread your legs for him?' She tried to move , and he pushed into her harder, keeping her there.

'No, Carl, I just wanted to go home. I told him not to go with me, but he insisted.' She said trying not to panic.

'What did I tell you? Hmmm? If you are going to fuck anyone one else, it's gonna be me.'

'I'm not going to fuck anyone else, I'm with Ben. I'm not going to sleep with you.' She reiterated to him the same sentiment she had said many times before.  
'You will. You looked up for it when I got here...' He began lifting her skirt and she started struggling so he put his hand on her back and his hand went between her legs.

'No, stop! Don't' She cried, and he got more forceful and turned her around.

'Carl get off me!' She screamed, and he slapped her. Then before she knew it, Carl was ripped off her and slammed against the wall with such force that the wall was cracked and through her tears, she saw David throwing Carl around like a rag doll. It took everything David had not to slaughter the boy right there, but he managed to refrain, and he threw him out of the house and warned him not to return. The slammed the door and turned to see her broken form still standing in the kitchen and he went to her, but his senses were filled with the scent of blood and he halted his stride and saw her wiping blood from her mouth. He clenched his teeth, his self-control being tested beyond belief, and he kept walking into the kitchen placing his hands on her shoulders and he felt her stiffen at his touch, she was scared, then she collapsed into him and cried.

'Thank you.' She held onto him and now he was the one who stiffened slightly.

'Lucky I didn't leave huh?' He said, wrapping her in his arms.

'Yeah.' She agreed, feeling safe for the first time in weeks.

'Well, I don't think he'll be back anytime soon.' She let go of him and wiped her eyes, pulling herself together. She then grabbed a bag and began packing.

'What are you doing?' He asked.

'He may not be back soon, but he will be back and I'm not going to be here when he does.' She said, busy gathering her clothing.

'What about Ben?'

'What about him? He doesn't care and where do you think Carl will be going right now? Straight to Ben and he'll probably lie, and Ben will just kick me out again, only this time I'm not letting him take my car.' She said dragging an armload of clothing out the door and throwing it into the back seat of her car. David watched her race around collecting the rest of her meagre belongings, and he desperately tried to ignore the lingering smell of her blood. She forced close the zip on her bag which was overfilled with the rest of her stuff and she stood in front of him. 'Want a lift back to your bike?' He half smiled at her and the way he looked at her gave her butterflies again. He pulled out her keys from his pocket and the expression on her face amused him. 'You're driving?' She tilted her head and he smirked at her. She then rolled her eyes and walked out of the door placing her bag in the trunk. It was the first time he'd seen her relaxed around him and it only made his need to protect her and his interest in her grow.

'Where are you?' Dwayne's voice appeared in his head.

'I'll be back at the cave soon.' He avoided his brother's question and she quickly went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and held it against her darkening purple lip. 'Are you OK?' He asked her.

'Mmmm...' She assured him.

'Let me see.' He pulled her hand away and gently touched her soft skin sending tingles through her body. She looked away, embarrassed over what had happened to her.

'Asshole.' David commented, dropping his hand. He would have killed him, totally ripped his skin off of his bones but he couldn't with her right there. That's OK, he would get Marko to join him in taking Carl out at a later date. Timing would be everything with that one though.

'Let's go.' She said and she went to leave but he stopped, looking at the Jim Morrison picture again. 'What?'

'Whose is that?' He motioned to the picture.

'Mine.' She looked at it sadly. 'The perfect male specimen, but I can't take it. It won't fit in my car.'

'I'll come back for it.' He said, still admiring it.

'Don't bother, I don't have anywhere to take it anyways.' She said and he looked at her. 'Come on.'


	12. Come With Me

They walked outside, and she climbed into the passenger side of the car, only this time she felt a little more comfortable riding with him. It was almost as if him helping her with what had just happened had created a level of trust between them, that they were closer, and he was now more like a friend to her. He drove fast, like before but now she felt safe with him.

'Where are you going to go?' He asked her as he drove down her road.

'I don't know, maybe LA or San Diego , maybe Vegas, no not Vegas... Reno maybe. I'm just going to disappear and get lost so no one can find me. I've got some money to keep me going but I will easily get a job wherever I end up.' She said, feeling more confident than she thought she would. Suddenly he turned the car right when he should have turned left and she looked at him confused. 'Where are you going?'

'Yeah, you're not going to LA or Nevada. You're coming back with me.' He simply said , and a bolt of confusion and panic shot through her.

'Back where? I can't stay with you, they'll look for you and find me. No, I want to leave.' She stressed. She wasn't happy with him just taking over like this.

'Nothing is going to happen to you.' He was calm yet deadly serious as he spoke. 'But you are not leaving.'

'What? You can't do this, it's not your choice.' She pointed out to him. 'Please David, you don't understand, OK. I want to go, I have to go.' She tried to be as calm and rational as he seemed to be, so he would see that she meant what she was saying.

'Star, as long as you are with me, you don't need to worry about that, you don't need to worry about anything.' He responded and pressed his foot on the accelerator, the car picking up considerable speed. Her mind was spinning, she didn't know why he was doing this.

'And what happens when I'm not around you? I really want to get outta town, like I have to go.'

'You don't have much of a choice now, do you?' He said, and she began to feel almost like she'd been kidnapped. This was surreal. 'And you don't want to seem ungrateful after accepting my assistance now, do you?' He slid his eyes sideways and saw her large sleepy eyes gazing over at him in disbelief. She'd just had a taste of the real David, the one that gives with one hand and takes away with the other. No matter what she said to him, he wasn't letting her out of his sight.

'No,' she withdrew a little, 'I appreciate what you did for me.'

'Right then, so you are coming back with me. The end.' He finished the conversation and she was left sitting there, unsure of exactly how that had just happened. She quickly decided that she'd be polite and just go with him but the first chance she got, she'd jump in her car and bail south, and she'd make sure that no one would find her, not Ben or Carl or this crazy guy forcing her to go to his house. He sped past the Boardwalk and up towards Hudson's Bluff and she began to become intrigued as to where this guy lived, there were some stunning houses up along the coast, but she looked to her left and the man she was looking at definitely didn't look like the type that could afford to live in one of the houses she remembered seeing. He suddenly veered off the road to the head of the Bluff and slammed on the breaks, skidding the car to a halt making her shoot forward in her seat and making her hair fly over her shoulders and cover her face.

'Oh, my God!' She laughed. Her reaction wasn't what he expected, she sat there giggling and sweeping her hair off her face and he couldn't help but smile at her. The dust created by the tires blew away and she looked around out of the windows but her perfectly formed eye brows creased when she saw there were no houses anywhere. 'Where are we?' She asked, uncertainty entering her voice.

'Come on.' He said, opening the door and exiting out of the car.

'No wait, where are we?' She repeated but he just closed the door and she sat there watching him walk around the front of the car before he opened her door for her. She sat and stared at the gloved hand being offered to her and she thought of Dwayne doing the same thing for her earlier in the night. They were both such gentlemen, like they were from a different age with old school manners yet looked like an 80's rock band. Reality hit her and a chill went through her, she became acutely aware of her gut screaming for her not to go with him and she stalled. 'David, where are we?' She asked him seriously.

'My place.' He replied. 'Come inside.'

'Inside where?'

'Trust me.' He reached down and took her hand in his, feeling the slight tremble in her fingers. He began to press her with his compulsion, yet she still remained seated, looking up at him, so he gently pulled her out of the car and in doing so, he pulled her close to him, so he could close the door behind her. He had her mere inches away from his cold firm body and the intensity that had been between them back at the house was back and she felt like her legs were going to buckle beneath her. He looked down at her with such depth he could have been peering straight into her soul and she could barely breathe. 'Come with me.' He said in his low hypnotic tone and her feet began to follow him before her brain had even engaged. He led her over to the old wooden stairs but she stopped dead once he took the first stair. This was the sort of place that girls like her were murdered by guys like him and she felt like she was pushing her luck with him already.

'I don't want to go up there.' She said honestly when he turned to see why she'd stopped following him. 'David, I really just want to...' He leaned forward and stopped her talking by placing his lips upon hers and pulling her in a deep mind-numbing kiss, one which affected him just as much as it did her and, once their lips parted, her eyes opened and it was like she was seeing him for the first time. He was used to having this effect on girls, but what he wasn't used to was how kissing her had consolidated his thoughts and cleared his uncertainties about her and now he knew, she was the one Max would talk to him about, the one that he would want to keep, and David finally understood. He knew he would never allow her to leave him now.

'Come with me.' He said again only this time she obeyed him without question. She walked behind him with her hand in his, barely being able to see the creaking stairs beneath her feet, but she could certainly hear the waves smashing against the rocks forty feet below her and the sound was making her legs weak, weaker than they already were. They reached the rocks at the bottom and he effortlessly climbed the large rocky path towards the entrance , despite his boots and leather pants and her heart was beating so hard the thought her ribs were going to snap. Suddenly she could see a faint light in the darkness and hear music and the echo of laughter and it totally distracted her from her fear and apprehension about being where she was and being with who was doing what she was doing.


	13. The Hotel

David was quietly excited to show her his home and was eager to see her reaction to seeing what no one got to see, at least no one that lived to tell about it. Dropping down the entrance, David saw that Paul had a smoke going, the place reeked of pot, but as he helped her down the slope, he realised the boys weren't alone. A wolf whistle rang out and David looked around as the room stopped and all the boys watched in curiosity as he walked in holding Star's hand.

'Well, hello...' Paul called out but Star was too mesmerised by the surroundings she now found herself in to react to him. David turned his head to look at her and watched her as her eyes scanned the room, totally ignoring the people in the place.

'The cat's caught a mouse to play with.' Marko projected, and David shot a glare at him. Suddenly a girl walked out from the darkness with no top on, with Dwayne following, both of them laughing until she abruptly stopped when she saw David and Star and Dwayne's hands flew up to cover her breasts.

'This should be fun.' Paul projected to Dwayne and they both smiled. David stepped away and saw that Star looked surprised at the appearance of the girl, but she quickly went back to looking around and, as David had left her side, she began to slowly walk around the fountain to explore further. To David she looked like a tiny doll standing in his territory and in a way, Paul was right, he _had_ caught her in his web and she had no idea the predicament she was now in. The boys weren't expecting David to come back with anyone, let alone Star, and it threw them a little despite how fucked up they all were. Recognising the state of them, it didn't surprise David how bad they were but he didn't want to scare Star off, especially after what she'd already been through tonight, so he asked the boys to tone it down a bit, to which he got semi judging looks. Marko withdrew his tongue from his girl's mouth and Paul's girl went from straddling him to sitting next to him but that was about it, otherwise the music still rang out from the speakers, the smoke still filled the room, and everyone continued doing what they were doing. Star remained near the entrance, nervously looking around, while David walked off to take the smoke from Paul's hand. The more her eyes searched the room, the more her attention was taken from the people to the spectacular arena around her, there were broken, ornate fittings around the walls, a large white fountain in the middle of the room with a fallen chandelier inside it, there were bottles with candles in them all over the place, and a number of barrels were alight around the room. She looked across the other side of the room and there was a large dark wooden desk running along the length of one wall, but it wasn't until she noticed the steel cage doors to the old lift in the corner that she realised where she was.

'This is the old Cliff Top Resort!' She suddenly blurted out, drawing everyone's attention.

'Well done.' David commended her. 'How do you know about that?'

'History major.' She said, shyly. David lifted his eyebrows at her response, she'd just nailed a hat trick. Who the fuck was this chick? She was momentarily mesmerized by the unbelievable fact that she was standing inside the legendary hotel and she felt more relaxed the wander the room and study its contents. The girls called out to her to come and join them, but she ignored them and inched around the room looking closer and more intently at the intricate yet deteriorating surroundings. She went to the reception desk and ran her hand along the rich mahogany wood, stopping at the copper plate stamped with the hotel's insignia, where she rubbed it clean with her finger. David watched her take in his home's furnishings with a fascination, he had never experienced someone paying so much attention to a slab of wood when he and his boys were around, and he was struggling to understand it. Apparently so did the girls, because one of them went behind David and placed her hands around his neck as he sat in his wheelchair, and she spoke to her.

'Hey, if you don't want him, I'll take him.' She laughed, and Star turned her head and looked at her as if she'd forgotten any of them were there. Star saw the girl draped over him and quickly realised that he must be expecting her to be like these girls and that just wasn't going to be her tonight. David, however, paid the girl behind him no mind and waited for Star's response.

'Oh, I'm not... If you two want to, you know, go for it. I don't even know what I am doing here really, I should go.' She turned to walk back to the entrance, but David spoke her name and she froze. It was like all the air was sucked out of the room, yet she could still breathe, and the silence was deafening. She felt drawn to him, she turned to face him and was instantly captivated in his sparkling blue stare. It was like she couldn't move.

'Stay.' He said simply, and she instantly knew she couldn't leave. She found herself walking towards him, totally oblivious of everyone else in the room and he smiled at her as she approached him.

He had won, he knew would, but he was still awarded the internal rush when he did. In many ways, David was a complex creature yet simple at the same time. He had to win. Every time. There was no other way, as long as David got what he wanted, things ran smoothly for everyone, and right now, he wanted her. The rest in the room went back to doing their own thing, although now David had declared his intentions, there seemed to be an underlying dynamic unfolding, one that spelt change. A change like they'd never seen before, but in the state they were in, none of them were as acutely aware as David was of what was transpiring. David told her to sit on the couch opposite him, which she did, but as she did, she felt a bit perplexed as to why she had changed her mind, how with one word he had managed to get her to stay. The way he now sat calmly in his wheelchair and watched her, she knew something had changed. Other people would speak to him and he'd respond but still his eyes remained upon her, forever on her, and it was making her feel very self-conscious. She had a smoke with them, figuring it would be the only way for her to relax a little while she sat with these wild men and slutty girls inside this cavern, but the whole time she felt like he was waiting for something from her. She just didn't know what. The girls were wasted now, really wasted, and she suspected this was what the boys had been waiting for. There was one for each of them, leaving her with David, who still sat there staring at her.

'I know you.' The girl draped over Dwayne suddenly said and Star flicked her eyes in her direction. 'You work at Treacle.' Star neither confirmed nor denied, only maintained eye contact with the girl. 'I know Sarah.' The girl drawled, and Star had to control her reaction with that news. Sarah was one of the long-standing dancers at Treacle and Star knew she did deals with Ben and Carl, she also figured this girl must know that Star was with Ben. She waited for the question and she didn't have to wait long. 'Aren't you with Ben?' Star's eyes quickly found David then returned to the girl. She shook her head but still said nothing. 'Really...' Star heard the doubt in her voice and her mind began to quietly spin. She looked at the other girls in the room and saw nothing but judgement, so she looked away again. She was sure it would get back to Ben now, he would know exactly where she was when he began asking questions and would be here as soon as he found out. She glanced at David, and he couldn't only see her anxiety growing, he knew exactly what she was thinking.

'Get her outta here.' David projected to Dwayne and Dwayne knew by David's tone and expression that now was not the time to defy him. 'Get them all outta here.' The boys all rose, pulling their girls up with them, and began ushering them out of the cave and Star looked around confused, like she'd been left out of the conversation and she didn't know what was going on. But one thing she knew for sure, she was now in this cave alone with him and the murder vibe returned to her.


	14. Stay the Night

Star sat there somewhat relieved the girls had gone, they were making her uncomfortable, but now that they had gone, and it was just her and David left alone in his territory, she actually felt even more uncomfortable, feeling like there was now an even bigger expectation for her to do something with him.

'So… You've been here a while now, how do you like it?' He inquired, pulling each finger of each of his gloves and sliding his extremely pale hands from beneath the black leather.

'I like it, yeah. I mean, it's amazing, but how did you end up here? How did you even find it?'

'Stroke of luck.' He replied, throwing his gloves down on the makeshift table in front of him.

'How is it that nobody else knows about it though?' She asked, thinking about the history the place held and the things that must still be down here. David just smiled and shrugged. Once he had found this place, he wasn't giving it up for anything, it meant he could get out of Max's place and they could be on their own. Anyone that came near the place met a messy end which had created a local legend about the caves up on Hudson's Bluff and led to the danger signs being put up. Too many bodies had washed up on the rocks. 'You don't live here, though right? You guys just hang out here?'

'No, we live here.'

'Where do you sleep?' She looked around and couldn't see any beds anywhere but then Dwayne had appeared from somewhere out the back with his girl.

'Would you like to see?' He asked, smirking.

'No.' She said almost too quickly, her cheeks now blazing.

'No?'

'No thank you.' She swallowed thickly, she didn't know what he was exactly asking but it had her hands shaking again. And he was still looking at her, what was he looking at? 'How long have you… lived… here?' She asked, making small talk really, in the hopes he would become more animated and stop staring at her so intently.

'A while.' He said, mimicking her answer from earlier on and the corner of her mouth lifted in amusement. Although the music still played, the silence between them grew as she avoided the whole bed conversation, but he patiently watched and waited for her to address it. 'You look nervous.' He finally said.

'I am.' She admitted, wringing her hands together. 'I feel like I'm intruding here.'

'You're not. I want you here.'

'Why?' He tilted his head at her question.

'Because.' David said, leaving her hanging.

'Look, I really appreciate everything you've done for me tonight, I really do, but I think it would be better for me if I go.' She started, quickly realising he still had her keys.

'I told you, you're going to stay here with me.' He said again.

'The offer is really kind of you David, but I can't stay in Santa Carla. Ben and Carl will find me if I stay here.' She tried to reason with him again, why didn't this guy get it?

'Nobody knows we live here.'

'He does know I was with you last though and he will track Paul down here. Santa Carla isn't that big and it's not like you guys are hard to find amongst the surfers. I can't be down in this cave forever.' Her comment made him smile. Forever was exactly what he had in mind.

'Star, you're not listening to me. I'm not going to let anything, or anyone hurt you. I won't even let anyone touch you and trust me, neither of those two are going to fuck with me or my boys.' He said seriously and she felt a strange sensation in her stomach. She looked into his eyes as he spoke, and she almost believed him. She couldn't imagine anyone messing with him after what he did back at the house. Carl seemed no match for David at all, but she knew those boys, and she knew they didn't give up that easily. She went to tell him as much, but he seemed just as determined to keep her there, so she figured there was no point. It was too late, and she was too stoned to either drive the six hours to LA or to even try and find somewhere else to sleep for the night, not that she even had her keys to go anywhere anyways. She decided she would just get up early and search his jacket pockets for hr keys tomorrow and she'd sneak out while he slept. She rubbed her eyes, raked her hands through her hair and sighed.

'Fine. Where can I sleep?' She asked, her submission appeasing him, and he curled his lip in approval. He knew he was going to win but he liked it that she came to that conclusion on her own. He beckoned her with his forefinger and a look of nervous fear flashed in her eyes before she got up to follow him. A scuffle of feet sounded at the entrance and she turned to see David's friends jumping down the entrance sans the girls they had left with. Suddenly her chest tightened, and she felt trapped, even though she had agreed to stay, now she felt like there was no escape. She was alone with these boys and she knew if they wanted to try anything, there was absolutely nothing she could do. David didn't even turn to look at them, he just continued to lead her out the back down a thin hall with an uneven floor and the further she ventured down that hall, the more scared she became. Suddenly she couldn't see anything, and she felt his hand find hers and he pulled her closer to him, so he could guide her with his body. His hands were icy cold and all she could hear now was the dim beat of the bass from the stereo behind her and the thumping of his boots and all she could think of was that he was leading hr to her death. That he was going to murder her. Every step he took was like a syllable in the word, mur-der, mur-der, mur-der, mur-der-er, he's-a-mur-der-er. By the time they'd reached the room she was to stay in, her heart was beating so hard, she was almost having a heart attack. He let her hand go and left her standing in the pitch black, paralysed in fear while he did god knows what, then suddenly he flicked his zippo and lit two candles on an old and very dusty dresser against the wall, lighting up the 1900's room.

'Oh my God.' She couldn't help herself as he she could finally see around her and was blown away at the standard the room was in, considering how old it was and that it had fallen in the earth. The bed was made with old white sheets and a frilly white overlay with blue birds on it, well, it used to be white, now it was more of an off white. The many square pillows on it were askew and she looked at David.

'This isn't where Dwayne and that girl were, is it?' She screwed up her nose a little as she asked him, and it amused him.

'No. There are many different rooms that survived the quake.' In all honesty, he had no idea where Dwayne had been with that girl, but she seemed somewhat placated knowing the bed hadn't been used that night. She gingerly touched the fabric of the bed spread and she looked around the room. It had been kept in the dark pretty much permanently for the past 80yrs and it was dusty and smelled funny but in the candle light she was surprised the see how much colour had been preserved in the fittings. There were rich reds and golds in the detailing along the top of the walls and beautiful handles on the closet door, it wasn't big, but she could imagine it would have been a cosy room to stay in back in its day. Right now, however, with it being nestled inside a dank cold cave near the ocean, it wasn't a very enticing place to sleep for her. She thought of the exit out of the room and how dark it had been, how there was no way she would be able to find her own way out, until she looked at the candles burning on the dresser. Maybe she could take one of those and find her way out once he was gone. But he still had her keys, and where was she going to go anyways? She figured she was stuck there. She cautiously sat on the bed and looked over at him, he was lounging against the wall watching her like a lion watches its prey and that's kind of how she felt, like she was prey for him.

David watched as she analysed another room in his home and again became a little perturbed at how much attention she paid to the walls and the bed yet how little she paid to him. As much as she maintained her levelled disinterest though, he could see her intrigue in his world growing and that was exactly what he wanted. She felt so awkward sitting on the bed and it must have showed on her face because he sat down next to her.

'Are you OK?' He asked her, but she was momentarily mesmerized by his blue eyes shining in the candle light. They were hypnotic, and he knew she was beginning to come around to him and he smiled. 'Hmm?'

'Um.. They're not going to come in here, are they?' She bit her lip, nervous in asking the question.

'Who? My boys? No.' He quietly laughed. 'Don't worry about them, they've had their fun for tonight.'

'Have you?' For the second time tonight, he saw a vulnerability in her eyes, a fear that hadn't been caused by him.

'Star, if I was going to hurt you, you wouldn't even be here.' He replied a little too seriously and she saw a flash of displeasure in his demeanour. 'I told you, nothing else is going to happen to you tonight.' He repeated. Her connotation had annoyed him, he had shown her nothing but kindness, which for David was as rare as hen's teeth, and she should be appreciating his efforts, not judging him. He stood up, suddenly thinking twice about the ungrateful bitch sitting before him. 'Good night Star.'

'No, wait!' She quickly said, 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… Please don't go. I don't want to be in here alone.' She clutched his jacket and he looked down at the girl pleading for his company. He was finally getting a taste of what he wanted from her, she was looking at him with such desperation, like she not only wanted him but needed him, but he wanted more. He wanted her to crave him, he wanted her on knees begging for him to touch her and kiss her and consume her. He wanted every part of her body and soul aching for him, like she couldn't bear to be without him and he would keep her and manipulate her and twist her until he had her right where he wanted her, and even then, he would keep pulling until she was screaming for him. He would break her, even if it took him the rest of time. He would own her.

'Star, you'll be fine. Believe me, no one is going to find you in here.' He informed her, and as she looked back at him, the rejection became evident in her expression.

'Please don't leave me.' She stood up to make her request stronger and he placed his hand upon her cheek. Her skin was soft, and he could feel the blood rush to the surface beneath his fingertips.

'Go to sleep Star. You are safe here.' His pupils dilated as he spoke, and she suddenly felt drowsy and a little dizzy. She sat back on the bed and lay down, gazing up at him with her large almond eyes half closed. He knew then he could take her, do whatever he wanted with her, but he didn't. He wanted his game, he wanted her to come to him without any compulsion. He wanted her to earn his love.


	15. Things Change

Within minutes Star was asleep and David stood in the flickering light of the lone candle still burning and he watched her sleep for a minute. He felt like he'd caught the most beautiful bird and she was now safely in his dark cage, under his control and she was now his to do with whatever he wanted, and it pleased him. He felt calm for the first time in weeks, content in the knowledge that he'd got what he wanted. Just before he went to leave, he noticed she was shivering and he looked around for another blanket for his new pet but when he found nothing, he removed his jacket and draped it over her. She instantly pulled it under her chin, curled up into a little ball, relaxed and stopped her shivering. He walked out of the room, a small comforting fire burning inside him, knowing he would sleep properly for the first time in weeks.

Star opened her eyes to almost total darkness, aside from a fragile glow of light in her peripheral vision. She had to think about where she was and, when it came back to her, she pulled her arms out from beneath the heavy blanket lying on top of her and, feeling the fabric, she realised what it was, and she shot up into a seated position. She tried to see to find the pockets but struggled in the almost non-existent light. She looked over and could only see the outline of the second candle next to the first one that had gone out, drowned in wax, so she carefully got off the bed, picked up the candle off the ledge and scratched around the top to dig out the wick. When she thought she had, she took it over to the delicate nub of a flame and tried to light it, careful not to let the drips of wax extinguish what was only just burning. The room went even darker for a second before the wick caught alight and then the room brightened considerably. She placed it back upon the ledge and turned to pick up the large black lump on the bed and began to search for her keys. She checked one side and found only cigarettes, so she quickly checked the other side and found nothing which made her heart sink. She began squashing and clutching at the jacket, her desperation to get out of there becoming apparent to her then, when she felt a hard, irregular lump beneath the top left lapel, she put her hand inside and felt the familiar jagged edges of a set of keys. She pulled them out to look at them and was elated when she saw her small shooting star keyring. She gripped them tightly in one hand and dropped the jacket back onto the bed with her other hand, feeling a sense of urgency in case any of them woke up and tried to stop her. She looked around to see if she'd left anything but quickly realised she didn't bring anything down here, so she picked up the candle and carefully carried it out into the passage way. It was just as dark as she remembered it being but somehow coming out of the hallway was less scary than going into it, although she suspected that was because of the candle in her hand and the absence of the strange man leading her. She reached the main room and found it wasn't much lighter than the passageway she'd just come from, which made her wonder what the time was. She walked past the large concierge desk and was reminded, and again astounded, about where she was. She couldn't wait to tell her friends, but nothing could have prepared her for what was waiting to greet her as she walked around towards the entrance of the Cave Hotel.

She rounded towards the entrance and she was astounded to see her Jim Morrison picture staring back at her. Her brain couldn't function properly as she stood there looking at the rock star, did David go back and get it? When? She hadn't been asleep that long. Her heart palpated uncomfortably in her chest and a bad feeling came over her, it being here was weird and something was very wrong about this place, about this whole situation for her now. A shiver went down her spine as if someone had just walked over her grave and, clutching her keys tighter in her hand, she turned and began the climb out of the place, stopping at the top to take one last strained look around before she left. She knew she'd never be back here and she wished she had a camera to take a photo, but now with her Doors picture living here, she felt like she was leaving her mark here anyways.

She walked outside, and the sea was calm with the moon hanging low in the sky, leaving a wavy streak of light along the water. She stopped, however, when she realised she must have slept all day and she became confused, this wasn't like her at all, had they drugged her? She felt in her pocket and the pill was still there and she was relieved but that creepy feeling washed over her again and prompted her to climb to the Bluff faster. She manoeuvred her way up the scary steps without giving it a second thought, only when she reached the top, her adrenalin deflated, and panic quickly set in. The top of the Bluff was empty, and she ran down the steps to the dirt cliff top and over to where she knew she'd left her car.

'Looking for something?' Her head spun around, and she saw a bright orange dot coming towards her, attached to an unwanted yet familiar face. She had really hoped she could get out of here without running into him again.

'My car has been stolen.' She exclaimed but all he gave her was a chuckle in return. 'It's not funny, I need my car!'

'Your car hasn't been stolen Star.' He informed her.

'Where is it? Did you move it?' She asked him, sounding hopeful.

'No, I got rid of it.' He said simply. 'You don't need it.' He said it as if he'd made an executive decision.

'What? It has all my stuff in it, my clothes, my money, everything I need to leave! Where is it?!' She was on the verge of tears, this was bullshit.

'I told you, you're not going anywhere. You're staying here with me now.'

'And I told you, I can't and I'm not. You can't keep me here against my will David. That's illegal.' She spat, more than a little annoyed now. 'Keep my Doors picture as a nice momento of me if you want but I am out of this fucking town. Now, where is my car?!' She was beginning to lose control. David turned and smiled at his boys, who remained in the back ground looking on from their bikes, then he turned back to face her.

'Your stuff is down in the cave, but your car is gone.' He was speaking the truth. 'If you want to go anywhere, I will take you.' She stopped and stared at him, sure he was legitimately crazy then she felt the keys in her hand.

'Bullshit,' she said lifting them up in the air, 'I have my keys, how did you move the car?' The boys all laughed at her and she felt embarrassed at their mocking.

'There's more than one way to get rid of a car, Star.' David answered her. 'Trust me, you're not going to see it again.' The boys continued to laugh at her and she looked over at them, not understanding why they were going along with this. Why weren't they telling him that this wasn't cool and to let her go?

'Look David, you don't even know me.' She said calmly. 'I am indecisive, slightly neurotic, moody and a picky eater. Seriously, you don't want me hanging around all the time.' She was trying a different tact, but she could tell him she was a serial killer and it wouldn't have mattered to him. He had chosen, and she was his. David's lip curled, and he chuckled at her again.

'Come on.' He said, totally ignoring what she'd just said.

'What? David, I want my car, I want to leave.' She repeated, beginning to think there was actually something wrong with him. Suddenly he spun on his heel and she saw his face had changed.

'Listen here, you little bitch,' he said throwing his cigarette away, his mood turning dark, 'did you want that fucker to find you?' She recoiled and stared at him. 'You'd just left your car out in the open and we got rid of it for you, so you wouldn't be found, like you wanted. Now instead of being ungrateful, you can thank me and get over here.' He snapped, and her heart thumped in her chest as the blood drained from her face. She stared at him warily, she was unsure of what to do next and she was scared he might hit her or something.

'Sorry.' She quickly said. 'Thank you.' She stood there, quite in fear of the man and suddenly found herself in a strangely better yet possibly far worse situation than she'd already been in.

'Now!' He barked, and she jumped at his tone. Feeling unsteady on her feet, she went to him and he grabbed her roughly by her upper arm, the same way he had at the Boardwalk only this time he didn't let go, and he pulled her over to his bike. He got on and booted it harshly to life while she stood there nervously watching the other boys do the same, then she looked back at his machine before looking back up at him.

'Where are we going?' She asked, and he looked back at her with malicious eyes.

'Get on.' It was an order and she again looked around at the other boys, who were now leering at her.

'I've never ridden on a bike before.' She told him, and he glared at her. She tentatively got on behind him and found herself seated a little too close to him for her liking and she tried to slide back and hold onto the seat handle behind her, but he reached back, took her hand and pulled it around his waist and held it there until he pulled away. She was then left with no choice but to hold on to him.


End file.
